I just heard that Adam West, the actor who played Batman in the 1960s TV series and 1966 feature film, has died aged 88. My initial thought was shit, no! Then for some reason a big smile came to my face. And I think the reason for that is because Adam West’s Batman was my Batman as a kid, and not only managed to help embroider my childhood with adventures, crazy storylines, cool characters and vehicles, and the best secret lair ever… but also made me happy.

Batman was one of the shows I looked forward to watching the most, and whenever the feature film was aired on TV I made sure I’d watch it – the scene of the shark and the Batcopter being my favourite! Looking back I can see how the show was played for a decent amount of campy laughs – a lot of which would’ve escaped the attention of my kid-self. I’m a fan of what Burton and Nolan did with the character and I enjoy some of the comic books, but in many ways my sense of who, or what, Batman is will always be shaped by Adam West’s Caped Crusader.

Farewell old chum.

Photo of Adam West as Batman from the television series. Public Domain.

OMG, this is the first I’m hearing this. Some icons you think will live forever. Adam West was one of those icons. He was my first Batman too and I will always be grateful to Mr. West for igniting my love for comics.

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